Power Rankings, Penguins on Top
1. Pittsburgh Penguins (29-10-0, 1st in East)
The Penguins are the best team in the NHL right now, I don’t think too many will argue with that. They lost two in a row to end their fantastic fifteen game winning streak, but got back into their winning ways winning in a shoot out thanks to new addition, Jussi Jolkinen’s winning shootout goal. Pittsburgh has made multiple moves the last couple weeks to solidify their line-up, and they’re looking as dangerous as ever, even without captain Sidney Crosby. Solid goaltending and a dangerous powerplay will help guide this team into the playoffs.
2. Chicago Blackhawks (28-5-4, 1st in West)
The Blackhawks are one of the leagues most dangerous teams. The penalty kill has been stellar all season. The Hawks average a league high 3.2 goals a game, and a league low 2.1 goals against a game. Lead by Patrick Kane‘s 44 points this season, the Hawks are set to win the Central Division, and if they can keep winning, they’ll take the entire Western Conference.
3. Montreal Canadiens (25-8-5, 2nd in East)
The Canadiens have won 4 of their last 5 and are in the leagues top teams amongst, goals, goals against, powerplay, and penalty kill. The Canadiens are a good all around team and should have no problem holding off the Bruins and winning the division, they currently are ahead by 3 points. The Canadiens are playing well and prove to be a hard team to bring down.
4. Anaheim Ducks (26-8-5, 2nd in West)
The Ducks just came off of a three game series with the Dallas Stars. Winning the first two before dropping the third, they had points in four straight games after coming off of a tough stretch in which they lost Corey Perry to a suspension and lost four straight games, two in a row to the Red Wings and then two in a row to the Sharks. It seems the Ducks may be back… For now.
5. Los Angeles Kings (22-13-4, 4th in West)
The Kings are second in the Pacific sitting behind only the Anaheim Ducks who are ahead of the Kings by 9 points. With the division seemingly out of reach the Kings are playing to get the last spot with home ice in the first round. The Kings have points in 7 of their last ten games, with a record of 5-3-2 in their last 10. The Kings offense has been key to the success this season. Scoring an average of 2.9 goals a game is 8th best in the NHL, and the powerplay has been good sitting at an even 20%. Jeff Carter is scoring again, he has 23 on the season now which is good enough for 3rd best in the NHL, and 5 goals in the last six games.
6. Vancouver Canucks (21-11-6, 3rd in West)
The Canucks are hot right now. 8-2 in their last ten, the defense is playing well, and the goaltenders are also playing well, making Vancouver dangerous. Fourth in the league goals against per game, the Canucks goaltenders have three shutouts in the last eight games. Sitting on top of the Northwest at the moment, they are ahead of the Minnesota Wild by two points. They’re playing well at home winning their last 5.
7. Boston Bruins (24-9-4, 4th in East)
Boston’s defense and goaltending has been the good side of the Bruins this season. Boston has the top penalty kill in the NHL and are second in the league allowing only 2.1 goals a game. After picking up Jaromir Jagr from the Dallas Stars, the Bruins are hoping to get their 24th ranked powerplay going. If the powerplay picks up this team is extremely dangerous. The Bruins haven’t been closing out games, and their record of 5-4-1 is not getting them anywhere in their chase for the division.
8. Toronto Maple Leafs (21-13-4, 5th in East)
Toronto is rolling right now. Points in 9 of their last 10, going 6-1-3. This is a team that is playing well, and I would not be surprised to see them make a push in the playoffs. The Leafs are scoring 3.1 goals a game and 3.5 in their last ten. They have been giving up an average of 2.8 in the last ten and they seem to live and die in the offensive end. Either way, the Leafs are hoping Joffrey Lupul will be back shortly giving them extra fire power on the offensive end.
9. San Jose Sharks (20-11-7, 5th in West)
San Jose has been one of the leagues best home teams this season. 14-1-5 on their home ice. Their poor road record has been holding them back at 6-10-2. San Jose is 8-1-1 in their last ten games. Good defense and good penalty killing has gotten the Sharks to where they are right now. Sitting in the 5th spot in the West, they’re fighting with the Kings for the 4th seed, and home ice in the first round of the playoffs. The Kings are up by a point, but the Sharks have an extra game to play.
10. Minnesota Wild (22-14-2, 6th in West)
The Wild are playing well, but not well enough to keep up with the Canucks in the Northwest. 6-4-0 in their last ten the Wild have been good, but not great. Offseason additions, Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, lead the team in assists and goals, but the offense hasn’t been getting it done lately, and the defense hasn’t been helping out too much either. They finally got a win the other night against the Columbus Blue Jackets shutting them out 3-0, snapping a three game losing streak. The Wild are still in the race for the division, but they need to keep winning like they did against the Jackets.
11. St. Louis Blues (21-14-2, 7th in West)
The Blues are on the bubble right now, and they’re playing well. Winning 4 straight and 6 of their last ten. Goaltending and defense has been strong giving up only 5 goals during the winning streak. The Blues added defender Jay Bouwmeester at the trade deadline and the defense has played well and is keeping the Blues in the race. They hurdled Detroit into seventh place after beating the Wings 1-0 Sunday. Only 4 points separate them from fourth place.
12. Ottawa Senators (19-13-6, 6th in East)
The Senators are starting to lose it now that we’re getting a little further into the season. 5-5-0 in their last 10. The Senators are in 6th in the East right now with a two point lead on the Rangers and the Islanders. The Senators are tied for second worst in the East with only six road wins. Plagued with injuries this season, no one expected the Sens to be where they are now, but they need to start winning on the road to finish off such a surprising season.
13. Washington Capitals (20-17-2, 3rd in East)
Ovi is scoring and the Caps are winning. 8-1-1 in their last 10, Alex Ovechkin has 9 goals in six games and a total of 25 on the season. The Capitals are playing in a weak division which has helped them in their race to the playoffs. Sitting at 3rd in the East, they have a 2 point lead in the division over the Jets, who have been falling off the map lately going only 1-7-2 in their last ten. The Caps have the best powerplay in the NHL converting on a little over 25% of their chances. The defense and penalty kill is a problem, but if they Caps lock it down in the final stretch of the season, Washington is going to be a dangerous team to play.
14. Detroit Red Wings (19-15-5, 8th in West)
The Red Wings are slipping winning only 5 of their last 10. The offense has been streaky, but the defense has been playing better. Jimmy Howard has been playing well in net, but he’ll need to keep it up to keep the Wings in the top eight. The offense has to find some way to be more consistent. They have the skill, it’s just a matter of getting their injured forwards back and getting back on track offensively. Todd Bertuzzi and Darren Helm are big pieces to this team, and in their absence the young guys Detroit has pulled up have answered the call and played well, but they just don’t have the same fire without gritty Bert and speedy Helm.
15. New York Islanders (19-16-4, 8th in East)
The Islanders have points in four straight and have won 6 of their last 8 games. The offense is scoring and the defense is keeping the puck out of the net. John Tavares leads the team with 23 goals and 40 points, and he has four points in the last four games. The Islanders are sitting in eighth place right now. The New Jersey Devils and the Winnipeg Jets are both behind the Islanders by two points.
16. New York Rangers (19-15-4, 7th in East)
The Rangers have been struggling a bit lately. They picked up a couple big wins, including beating the Penguins last week. They’re sitting in 7th right now but have only a two point lead over 9th and 10th place Winnipeg and New Jersey. They can still move up in the standings, and they need to continue scoring. The offense hasn’t been there this year, and this is a team that should have no issues scoring. Henrik Lundqvist has been awesome lately, posting a .927 save percentage in his last ten games. He hasn’t given up more than two goals since March 16th against a dominate Pittsburgh team.
17. Winnipeg Jets (19-19-2, 9th in East)
Winnipeg is waving goodbye to it’s playoffs chances almost every time they stop onto the ice. Like the Devils, the team has just collapsed. They have lost 7 of their last 10. They still have a chance at winning the division, the Capitals are only up by 2 points, but they have to start winning, and now. The Caps are hot, and right now the Jets are not. Before the win Saturday against the Flyers, the Jets had given up an average of 4 goals a game during a five game losing streak.
18. Nashville Predators (15-17-8, 12th in West)
Nashville isn’t an offensive team. When your offense is only scoring 2.4 goals a game, you had better have good defense, and the Predators haven’t been great. The Preds have lost seven of their last eight games, and their playoff chances are nearly gone. With the departure of Ryan Suter, and the monster contract they gave Shea Weber, you have to wonder what Nashville is thinking right now. Especially after parting ways with Martin Erat after he asked to be moved.
19. Edmonton Oilers (16-15-7, 10th in West)
Edmonton was riding a hot streak winning five in a row and getting two shutouts in the process before dropping their last two. The Oilers are young and we’re getting a good look at a team that should be a contender very soon. The special teams have been great this year. They have the 3rd ranked powerplay to go along with the 9th ranked penalty kill. Edmonton is only three points out of a playoff spot, and if they can get back on that hot streak they have a good chance of getting in.
20. New Jersey Devils (15-14-10, 10th in East)
The New Jersey Devils have lost SEVEN games in a row. Seven. They haven’t seen their playoff hopes slip away just yet though. They’ve done a good job of getting to overtime, but they can’t win. They are only two points out of the playoffs and they need to start putting the puck in the net. The Devils have the 29th ranked offense in the NHL and have scored only six goals in their last five games. Without Ilya Kovalchuk, the Devils chances are slim.
21.Columbus Blue Jackets (16-16-7, 11th in West)
The Blue Jackets are playing for a spot in the playoffs, and right now the only problem is the Jackets are streaky. The Jackets acquired Marian Gaborik at the deadline from the New York Rangers, and he should help add an offensive spark to a team that desperately needs it. Sergei Bobrovski has been playing well, and the Jackets need to put some more pucks in the net and ride him into the playoffs. Columbus is 4 points out of the last playoff spot. Gaborik grabbed a goal and an assist in his debut with the Jackets, and tallied another assist the next game. If he can provide the offensive presence they need, this could be a team that sneaks into the playoffs.
22. Phoenix Coyotes (17-15-6, 9th in West)
The Coyotes are hot right now, they’ve won four of their last five and have points in six straight games. They’re still in the hunt for the playoffs, they’re behind the eighth place Red Wings by only 3 points. The offense has been good lately, and the penalty kill has been getting the job done. The Coyotes are stuck in a tough division, and haven’t done a bad job of keeping up with them this season.
23. Philadelphia Flyers (17-18-3, 11th in East)
The special teams have gotten the job done in Philly this season, but it hasn’t been enough to make up for the lack of defense they’ve had. They made a couple moves at the deadline getting Kent Huskins from the Detroit Red Wings and Steve Mason from the Blue Jackets. Ilya Bryzgalov has played in 36 of 38 games this season. Talk about a work horse. Playing behind a defense like theirs every night in such a condensed season has to be draining. Good pick up in getting Steve Mason. The Flyers are only three points out of a playoff spot right now, and their offense is scoring enough to make up for the lack of defense. They’ve won 4 of their last 5 and have points in 6 of their last 8.
24. Dallas Stars (18-17-3, 13th in West)
The Stars have won their last two games, and they may still have a chance of getting into the playoffs. They’re only four points out of eighth place. Do I really expect them to make a push after dealing away Jaromir Jagr and Derek Roy? No, but I could be wrong. All they have to do is have a good final stretch and they may find themselves there. Who knows?
25. Buffalo Sabres (16-17-6, 12th in West)
The Sabres have won three straight and have points in four of their last five. A record of 6-2-2 in their last ten, Ryan Miller and the gang find themselves in the bottom of a real tough division and sitting in 12th place in the East. They have the worst powerplay in the league and the penalty kill isn’t much better. The Sabres aren’t out just yet though, they’re only a few points away from the eighth spot at the moment.
26. Tampa Bay Lightning (16-20-2, 14th in East)
Steven Stamkos leads the NHL in goals, but it’s about winning, not scoring. The Lightning haven’t played well on the road all season and a record of 4-5-1 in their last ten, and losing two in a row now, their season is over. The Bolts traded for goalie Ben Bishop, parting ways with young, talented Cory Conacher. Thanks to Stamkos, the Bolts have the 3rd best offense in the league, but inconsistency in net and on defense has put the team near the bottom of the division. Time to reload in the offseason, and see what you can come out and do next year in a full season.
27. Carolina Hurricanes (16-19-2, 13th in East)
The Hurricanes look like a mess. There’s no offense. There’s no defense. In such a weak division, that they could have won this season, they’re sitting in third with really no chance of getting into the playoffs. Carolina has lost twelve of their last thirteen games and have scored 3 goals in a game only three times during the stretch. The special teams haven’t been good at all this season. 13% on the powerplay and 76.2% on the penalty kill. That isn’t going to get you very far in the NHL these days.
28. Colorado Avalanche (12-21-5, 15th in West)
Colorado is banged up, but that’s not the reason they’re at the bottom of the conference. The team is young. They’re only 1-8-1 in their last ten. Like the Flames, the Avs are having a hard time winning, and are just playing for the future now.
29. Calgary Flames (13-20-4, 14th in West)
The Calgary Flames were sellers at this season’s trade deadline. They traded Jarome Iginla, Jay Bouwmeester, and a few others. The Flames are in rebuild mode, and they’re playing for the future now. The defense is a huge concern, giving up a league worst 3.5 goals a game. Calgary has lost 11 of their last 13 games.
30. Florida Panthers (13-20-6, 15th in East)
The Florida Panthers had a good run last season, but they only set up Panthers fans for disappointment this season. Florida’s powerplay is ranked 8th in the league, and seems to be the only thing keeping this team from sinking into the ocean. The Panthers have won 3 of their last 4. Maybe they’re trying to play their way out of the first pick in the draft this year.
